Mittal, Nu Iron reach SIS semi-finals

Arcelor Mittal cruised into the semi-finals of the SIS Industrial Football League when they dismissed rivals National Energy (NEC) by a comfortable 4-1 margin on the weekend. Keon Figaro gave the “Men of Steel” the lead in the fourth minute with a well composed finish after he received a pass from Andre Marchan.

Marchan, who has been a threat to opponents’ defences this season, sent Mittal 2-0 up when he blasted a close range effort into the roof of the net.

Mittal looked dominant as they knocked the ball around and kept much of the possession while NEC were forced to push forward after going two goals down early in the first half. Jerard McEachnie restored some life to the NEC camp with a left footed belter past Mittal’s custodian in the second half, however, any hopes of an NEC comeback were short-lived when former national Under-20 player Aaron Downing bagged his team’s third goal with a side-footed finish from a corner in the 29th minute.

Brian Constantine drove the final nail in the coffin when he fired a long range effort that seemed hopeful but beat everyone as it slammed into the net to complete an impressive win by a strong Mittal team who now have their sights firmly set on today’s semi finals.

In the final of four quarter final fixtures, powerhouses T&TEC were left in shock as Nu Iron sent them packing via kicks from the penalty mark.

After a conservative first half, Samlal Ramlal produced a fine finish to give T&TEC the lead in the 25th minute. T&TEC looked content to contain Nu Iron’s advances and seemed destined for victory but for the heroics of Kern Thomas. The experienced Nu Iron defender slotted home a pass from captain Dinesh Dass in the final minute of the match, after capitalising on a momentary but costly lapse in concentration from the T&TEC backline.

The unlikely finish sent the match to spot kicks where Nu Iron prevailed 3-2.